GIB GUILBEAU (Part 3)

with SWAMPWATER, Earl Scruggs (banjo) and Jimmy Day (steel guitar).

Note: The Byrds played 1970 at the "Ash Grove" and invited Gib Guilbeau on stage to sing his "Take a city bride". Byrds were Clarence White, Gene Parsons (both ex-Nashville West), Skip Battin and Roger McGuinn. Linda Ronstadt was singing "Break my mind" with the Byrds. John Beland was in the audience too. This show was released on CD 2000 as "The Byrds: Ash Grove" on the Deep Six label. Other guests on this CD are: Gram Parsons, John Hammond and Thad Maxwell. Thad Maxwell plays bass on the song Linda Ronstadt did " Break my mind". Thad Maxwell remembers: " It is one of my greatest memories, that night. I was new with Ronstadt - we had played at the "Greek Theater" that night, went to the Ash Grove after. Linda sat in, and asked to have me come up and play the bass for her tunes. So Roger, on the mic, says, "Is Thad Maxwell here?" I probably knocked over a dozen chairs and people in my euphoric haste to get to the stage!"

Larry Murray got Swampwater a record deal with RCA. They recorded a second album which got good reviews from "Rolling Stone" magazine and "Billboard" magazine.

The songs "One note man" and "A song I heard" from this album were released 1999 on the compilation CD:

One single from the 1971 album was released:

Larry Murray had gotten Linda on the Johnny Cash show at the "Grand Ole Opry". Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Earl Scruggs, The Dillards, Bread, Tony Joe White and Swampwater. Swampwater did two songs on their own as "Swampwater"!

April 1971 Linda Ronstadt was backed by Swampwater at the "Mike Douglas Show". Other guests were Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band, Chuck Berry, George Carlin & Mike Douglas. Here are some pics from that show:

1971 SWAMPWATER did final sessions for RCA. Those recordings are unreleased:

Those songs were produced by Larry Murray at RCA studios Hollywood.
Swampwater were: Gib Guilbeau, John Beland, Thad Maxwell, Stan Pratt.
Guests: Sneaky Pete Kleinow (steel guitar), Jim Horn (flute, sax) and Paul Parrish (piano).

Linda Ronstadt with Stan, Gib & John - "Swampwater"

Together with Linda they played everywhere and with everyone....from The Troubadour to The Greek Theater, The original Grand ol' Opry, The Johnny Cash Show, Dick Cavette Show, The Cellar Door, The Fillmores, etc... Note: Linda Ronstadt did her first New York appearance with Swampwater! Note: 2006 "Capitol Records" released a double CD - "The best of Linda Ronstadt - The Capitol Years" - including the first 4 Linda Ronstadt albums with bonus tracks. One bonus track - "Long long time" - was recorded live at the Troubadour 1971 with Gib Guilbeau, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Richard Bowden & Mickey McGee. SWAMPWATER recorded under the name Lowell Bennett 4 LP's for Westland Records. They did it under an assumed name because Swampwater were signed to RCA at the time. On each record they did songs of a famous country star like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell and Jerry Lee Lewis. Gib did the lead vocals on the Merle Haggard and maybe Buck Owens recordings and a guy named Chuck Morgan did the Glen Campbell, Jerry Lee Lewis and maybe the Buck Owens songs.

Note:: The Lowell Bennett albums were never released. Gib only remembers that he did the "Merle Haggard" album and Chuck Morgan others. 2000 or 3000 copies were pressed but never made it to any stores. They must be still in a garage somewhere. The Merle Haggard albums was done in one hour and the others too.

Gib was also involved together with Thad Maxwell in the soundtrack (instr.) for the movie Boxcar Bertha - never released on record! Songs in this movie were: Bertha's theme (Guilbeau/Maxwell) Boxcar Bertha blues (Guilbeau/Maxwell) Boxcar Bertha cues (Guilbeau/Maxwell)

In 1970 Gib and John Beland along with Ry Cooder and Chris Ethridge played behind Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Country Joe McDonald, Ramblin Jack Elliot and others at "The Hollywood Bowl" for the TRIBUTE TO WOODY GUTHRIE CONCERT. It was released 1972 as a live album (Warner 2586) that is now in the Library Of Congress.

About the time after Swampwater broke up Gib said in an interview:

"In the meantime, I was doing a lot of studio work, a lot of recording sessions. Some for Linda, some for Arlo, a lot of people that you have probably never heard of, some of them I've forgotten about. I couldn't even begin to think how many sessions I've played on or who I was with at the time. I was in and out of the studio all the time."

Early 70's Gib produced together with Thad Maxwell an album for Chuck Morgan: